You Cannot Be Serious!

Throwback Thursday – An updated version of a blog posted two years ago today……

Today has been a painfully slow news day. The highlight thus far being a person on TV covering their nose at the precise time someone in our living room broke wind.

The character in the movie Mission Impossible obviously wasn’t reacting to the flatulence in our chamber. However, as I’m shallow, easily amused bloke the timing made me smile…………. If the fact I’ve had to include that in my blog doesn’t tell you how dull my day’s been, then nothing will.

I’m assuming the character in Mission Impossible wasn’t reacting to the bottom burp in our home; however, due to its potency, you never know!

Emmanuelle Beart (above) struggling to come to terms with the flatulence in our front room…………. I don’t know why she’s taking the moral high ground, we all do it! Even Strictly Come Dancing host Darcey Bussell once broke wind (or was that her ankle?).

With today so bereft of incident, I’ve been seeking inspiration for a blog subject from many sources. In a bid to kick start my creative juices, I’ve been researching today’s famous birthdays, anniversaries of world changing events and deaths online.

Nothing is jumping out at me from what I’ve seen so far, just confronting lots of names of “celebrities” that I’ve predominantly never heard of, or if have are yet to inspire the epiphany I seek.

One of the names the Yahoo search engine returned when I googled (or Yahooed, should I say!) ‘Birthdays 27th July” was the bizarrely named movie director Yahoo Serious.

Yahoo Serious ………. or the artist formerly known as Greg Pead

My first thought on seeing the search engine response was “Are Yahoo being serious?” Yet despite sounding an unlikely moniker, on further research it turned out it was a genuine. Apparently, he is an Aussie famed for his conceptual art movies in the 1980’s and 1990’s, among them the comedy Young Einstein.

He changed his name from Greg Pead to Yahoo Serious in 1980, shortly before his filmmaking became popular. I can understand the wish to get rid of the name Greg Pead, but I have to say Yahoo Serious wouldn’t be my first chance as a new pseudonym.

Anyway, what he chooses as a stage name is none of my business. So I’ll just wish you a happy birthday Yahoo, or Greg (or whatever you call yourself these days). May all your dreams come true, apart from the one with the horse which is just wrong……… and very probably illegal!

Today is also the twelfth anniversary of the death of US entertainer and golf lover Bob Hope, who died at the age of 100.

Amongst Hope’s many projects were seven ‘Road Movies’ in which he topped the bill with fellow golf freak Bing Crosby. The gags ad-libbed by Hope and Crosby in these films, are said to have made up for the questionable script quality of the movie plots.

Hope died peacefully in his home in California on 27th July 2003. A little more out of the spotlight than Crosby who passed away while walking from a Spanish golf course in 1977.

Crosby, whose real name was Harry Lillis Crosby, took Bing as his stage name after concluding Yahoo Crosby would be a chuffing stupid name for someone in the entertainment industry……….. Greg Pead take note!

Crosby is buried near Los Angeles airport next to his wife and close by follow stars like Jimmy Durante, Mack Sennett and the fabulously named Fibber McGee.

McGee rose to fame with his wife Molly in an American radio comedy that aired between 1935-1959. He was another star who used a stage name. His real name was Lying Tw@t McGee, but his agent thought Fibber was a less confrontational option, so convinced the comic to change it.

Published by Gary Strachan

2 kids who've flown the nest, 1 wife whose flown with Jet2. Born at a young age in 1960's Leeds, the author became interested in the literary life when his wife bought him a dog. Having an allergy to dogs, he swapped it for a typewriter. Being unable to train the typewriter to retrieve tennis balls, he reluctantly turned to writing...... Website - www.writesaidfred.org
View all posts by Gary Strachan